Procedure for Personal Chairs, Readerships and Honorary Professors

Structure of the Sub-Committee

Applications for Personal Chairs and Readerships are considered by a Sub-Committee of Staffing Committee. The Committee also considers nominations by departments for the title of Honorary Professor.

The Personal Chairs and Readerships Committee meets at least four times per year, normally in February, May, June and October. The Committee has delegated authority to decide upon applications.

Membership of the Committee is as follows:-

  • Vice-Chancellor (in the Chair).
  • The Pro Vice-Chancellors.
  • Deans of Faculties.
  • Two lay members of Council.

The Registrar and Secretary and Director of Human Resources are in attendance.

Personal Chairs, Readerships and Honorary Chairs are covered by Ordinance 28.

Applications for Personal Chairs and Readerships

Applications should contain a letter of application, a curriculum vitae and the names of three referees, the first two of whom will be consulted in the first instance and the third held in reserve. Applications should be sent directly to the Vice-Chancellor.

The application should provide information which enables the Committee and the assessors to form an opinion on the criteria noted below. The contribution of the candidate to joint publications should be described, and full bibliographic details given for all publications cited.

The University consults at least four independent external assessors, chosen by the Vice-Chancellor from a list of at least six names provided by the applicant’s Head of Department.

The Head of Department is asked for a brief factual account of the contribution of the candidate to the work of the Department.

A copy of the application is sent to the referees and assessors.

Criteria

Evidence of activity well beyond that of Senior Lecturer level will be required. The Sub-Committee will take account of the following when considering applications for Personal Chairs and Readerships, and the assessors are asked to comment upon them.

  1. The quality of the research output, and whether it is of international excellence;
  2. The impact of key publications and the body of work as a whole on the field and whether the work is at the forefront of the field;
  3. The influence of the work on the development of the field;
  4. The volume of output, whether it is competitive and whether any significant gaps in the publication record can be explained;
  5. Bibliometric information which is appropriate to the field in question;
  6. The level of external funding and whether it is competitive within the field;
  7. External esteem in terms of, for example, editorial work, involvement with learned societies, prizes and fellowships;
  8. Invitations to give plenary or keynote lectures at national and international conferences;
  9. The supervision of postgraduate research students;
  10. Involvement in outreach and knowledge transfer.

Honorary Professors

Applications for Honorary Professorships are considered using a similar process to that employed for Personal Chairs and Readerships and the criteria are the same. Heads of Departments are asked to submit a Curriculum Vitae of persons nominated together with a case for support in relation to the likely contribution of the person nominated to the work of the department. A simple report is sought from two independent assessors, chosen by the Vice-Chancellor from a list of three provided by the relevant Head of Department..

Notification

The Vice-Chancellor informs applicants and the relevant Head of Department of the outcome of an application as soon as practicable after the Committee meets. The Vice-Chancellor arranges to meet with unsuccessful candidates to provide feedback if they so wish.

Appeal Procedure

Unsuccessful candidates for Personal Chairs and Readerships who remain dissatisfied shall have access to the agreed appeals procedure. Appeals can be on the grounds of a defect in procedure only. Appeals must be submitted in writing to the Vice-Chancellor within four weeks of the date of the letter giving notification of the decision. The appeal procedure can be found at http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/hr/pandp/promotionappeals.